Project Tomorrow - A Reassembly Filler Arc

[Quellian-dyrae]

Spoiler: Happy Thanksgiving

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Kitty shot you a sharp, worried look when you snapped the fork. "Misfits thing?" she guessed, in a tone of voice that communicated both "Go, I know the score" and "Man, what is with supervillains and timing?" Her tone didn't strictly communicate the "Let me know if you want backup" part because that would have been rather a lot to say tonally in just two words, but this was Kitty and it was you so obviously that just could go without saying.

So when you instead suggested heading up...okay yeah, she was a bit confused. Was it nothing? Or had something happened that you didn't want to mention where Jiji might hear.

Kitty followed you up, kinda bracing herself. You said you loved her, which wasn't necessarily a great sign. She remembered the last discussion you two had had here. A determined flame of fearsome will lit up in her eyes, and there was sharpness in her voice as she began to say, "Fred, I l-"

And then you elaborated. And both the worry and the determination vanished from her face, replaced with surprise. She blinked a couple times.

Silence stretched for several long moments.

Finally, Kitty spoke. "I know,"

...is exactly what she didn't say. Of course she didn't. You were Kitty's best friend in the world, and look to be frank she didn't have the sort of hang-ups you did. If she had known how you actually felt, there was no way she would have let you torture yourself with it for so long.

No. What she said was, "Thank you, for telling me. I understand how hard that must have been." Kitty knew you way too well to ask any obvious questions like "Why didn't you say something?" or "You know you can tell me anything, right?"

She reached out to take your hands, going to sit down on the side of the bed and kinda tugging you to sit beside her (well assuming you went along with it since obviously she couldn't have so much as budged you physically otherwise). She didn't release your hands. "I guess this is...probably something we should have talked about a while ago. I just...well, I guess I just assumed you felt the exact same I did and it didn't need discussion. Regardless of what anyone else said," she said that last bit a little dryly. Yeah, other people had totally told her, because of course they had you both live with the freakin' X-Men and literally everyone who has ever met the two of you seemed to know it automatically. But Kitty had just told them they don't know what they're talking about.

Kitty took a breath, kinda mentally steeling herself. She may not have had your hang-ups, but that didn't mean this sort of thing was easy as pie either. "So. Here's how I feel." Another preparatory breath. "You're my best friend. As far as I'm concerned, you will always be my best friend. Nothing else changes that, and I...really hope you feel the same way. As far as...anything else goes, in the general sense, yes, I'd be interested. I'm not going to say I feel the same way you do right now, but I don't want you to think I just flat don't reciprocate at all or something. I'm just...it's not something I've really considered, you know? I mean I guess I've considered it but not like considered or...wow, okay, rambling. Um."

"Look, the way I've always kinda felt, and I guess just kinda assumed you felt too, is like...if we were ever both in a place where we weren't in a relationship but were ready to have one, I'd be happy to give it a shot. So, I mean...obviously I'm not actually in that place right now. I don't know what the future will be like. I don't want you like...carrying a torch or, I dunno, waiting for me, or something. Straight-up truth is, Piotr and I have a good thing going, and I would like to think that's not going to change. If it does...then we'll see, I guess? Is that...?" Kitty kinda trailed off uncertainly, with a bit of an awkward laugh. In the movies, confessions like you had just made tended to be met with either hard rejection or unreserved reciprocation.

Real life was more complicated.

Spoiler: A Caged Phoenix

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Green Lantern was quietly watching your interaction with Caer-Sol. At your question, he answered, "She has not been sentenced. Right now, these four are simply in holding pending trial. There is also an element of protective custody, given that they are witnesses to crimes of Attempted Genocide in the Second Degree, although that's a different case. The charges that they are being investigated for include Premeditated Invasion of an Occupied Planet, Conspiracy to Commit Mass Mind Control, and several hundred counts of Premeditated Murder Across Planetary Boundaries. There are also a few more minor or individual crimes being looked at, such as Unlawful Use of Biological Weaponry and Conspiracy to Alter History."

Law and Order: Green Lantern Unit would have been an amazing show. I'm just saying.

"They had originally consented to being held pending trial, which seemed appropriate given that protection was authorized for them anyway. Resultantly, however, that means there was not originally a hearing to determine if they should be released or allowed bail." He looked past you and at Caer-Sol directly. "If you would like such a hearing to be scheduled, you only needed to say so. It would have been much more efficient than ranting and hitting things in hopes that it would get your point across."

Caer-Sol answered with a sweet smile, and then another full-force punch to the wall.

"Mm," Green Lantern replied simply.

Spoiler: ...That's Your Evil Plan?

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Your will crashed into the demonic banker's mind. He wasn't ready for it; your first assault punched through his mental shields and deep into his brain, devastating his psyche and giving you easy access to his memories. He managed to pull together enough of a psychic defense against your second attack to ameliorate the damage and keep you from pushing any further into his mind, but only just.

Probing his thoughts, you could see that he contacted his superiors telepathically...and his most recent contact was...well, it was happening right now. You could see in his memory how he had informed his contact of a woman "claiming to be Gethsemane's niece" and who evidently had been given significant training in magic.

But you heard in his mind the response that came. ~Detain her. I will be there shortly to interrogate her myself.~

You could recognize the voice, both from past experience and from your previous dip into the demon's memories.

It was Jesticarn himself.

The banker, reeling, but unaware that you were privy to his thoughts, fixed you with a firm glare and lashed out in return, psychically agitating your nerve endings to flood your body with pain - a torture power designed to cripple a target's mental resistance.

Spoiler

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Demon Banker:
Move: Staggered.
Standard: Attack Gethsemane with Induce Sensation. Variable Descriptor set to [Pain]. Give me Fortitude DC 20 vs. Weaken Will.

Gethsemane is on turn.

Spoiler: Lotus Hacking

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"And we are to simply take you at your word? You profess to be doing this out of the kindness of your hearts, but people do not actually work like that. I can think of countless ways that in the future, these things you are 'offering' could be exploited to-"

"Are you serious, Arkham?" Senator Boxer interrupted. "This willful ignorance is beneath the dignity of this hearing. Even if you can argue that the heroes who have stepped forth to defend this country and this planet in times of need have not done so effectively - and that is, I think, a rather hard claim to make - to say they did so for exploitive purposes is to pay no heed to simple facts. They have not tried to replace our existing systems with those that they control - all of our normal law enforcement, emergency, and military organizations are still doing their jobs. You say they do it for fame, when a majority of them still hide their actual identities! You are not here to wage a personal battle against superheroes for the entertainment of the media. You are here to represent the interests of your constituents, and I do not believe that their interests are served by our standing in the way of people who are trying to selflessly improve our country."

Arkham kinda stumbled over the beginnings of a retort, only to be more-or-less shouted down by several other Senators - from both sides of the aisle.

Senator Boxer fixed her attention back onto you. "Miss Saturn, please allow me to ask a more productive question. What can we do to help?"

[SuperCracker]

Fred let her bring him over to the bed. He sat on the edge. He thought about putting on his most aggressively neutral expression, but he didn’t. His expression was reserved, thoughtful, but not crushed. Was he feeling good about any of this? Nope. Was he regretting that he had said anything at all? Yes. It was his fear exactly. He opened his mouth and succeeded in making things weird. And where things lay and with what was going to happen with Piotr’s ring, he’d waited too long and lost whatever chance to make this work.

He looked away from her and found an old AC/DC poster to fix his gaze on for a moment. There was just the quiet realization that everyone who had been lecturing him was right. He’d let life pass him by.

“I’ll never stop being your friend,” he said softly, but with conviction. “I want you to be happy.” That part was exactly what anyone who has ever really known Fred Broll would expect him to say. The thing he didn’t say --- no. Best not to leave things unsaid. No second chances.

“I’m not going to stop feeling this way, though. I’m just not. It doesn’t mean I’m going to try and ruin what you’ve got going for you, but I can’t turn it off. I’ve tried to turn it off. I’ve lied to myself that I could turn it off. Trying to has never ended well for me.”

A pause. He looked up towards the ceiling, then back down.

“I’m really good at being Ronin, but I've never been good at being Fred. When I’m not being Ronin, I live in my head most of the time. I have tortured myself for years over this. I convinced myself it would be wrong to tell you, knowing what I know about where my life is going. And even right now, after everything people have said to me and doing my best to reconcile it, I feel guilty.”

He sucked in a deep breath. He was mad at himself for what he’d just said. Did it make sense for him to feel self-loathing? Probably not, but he did.

“I hope everything works out with you and Piotr. I do.” The last two words nearly whispered, hoping that his own wants would fade into the background. It was equivalent to all the times he told someone he was fine when he was bleeding everywhere. He could watch them all live out good lives. With this chapter closed, he’d double-up on his Ronin time. That’s what he told himself.

[Starsign]

Rene freezes still hearing Green Lantern's legal explaination. A hearing would be better than anything Rene can think of. In fact if it's that easy-

*WHAM*

This time, the full force impact sends Rene flinching; his reptilian head was looking away from the cell door. The element of surprise sends Rene's tail briefly flopping, his many sharp teeth chattering, and his eyes firmly focused back on Caer-Sol. He gulps, keeping his cold-blooded self from freezing in anxiety. "Can a hearing be scheduled then?" He asks Green Lantern; the reptilian's voice a mix of his usual compassion and steel. "I don't know if I'll be allowed to testify, but if they ask, I won't hesitate to speak the truth."

There's this sinking suspicion he might need to testify for what they are actually accused of. He actually was present on two occasions relating to these charges.

He looks again at Caer-Sol, seeing her wild eyes compared to his softer, reptilian ones. "Caer-Sol?" He takes a deep breath, curling his forked tongue in his mouth for only a moment before asking, "What do you want to do if allowed release on bail?" He's not sure what to expect... if Caer-Sol even wants to answer.

[Zelphas]

The Indigo Ring constantly floods Gethsemane with compassion. It is the one continuous emotion she feels at all times. It is why she is working for other creatures, rather than being in league with this "banker" and those who command him. She can feel other emotions, but they are all felt through the lens of compassion; none of them are all-consuming. Bottomless rage, unshackled greed, limitless hope... Gethsemane is safe from all of those emotional feelings, constantly anchored by her bond to compassion through the Indigo Ring.

So when her glamoured form suddenly leaps forward, smashing through the banker in front of her with her hands covered in deep scarlet flames, she could not have been reacting in blind panic. Her status as an Indigo Lantern makes that impossible. Completely impossible.

Spoiler: OOC

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Free Action: Switch to Claws of Rage.

Standard Action: Claws of Rage on the banker, All-Out Power Attacking for 5. (1d20+12)[22] On a hit, Parry DC 30+Multiattack vs. Damage, with Secondary Effect.

If the Banker is Incapacitated by that attack:

Move Action: Swap to To Where There's Need and Teleport 11... out of there.

If he isn't

Extra Effort: Claws of Rage again, All-Out Power Attacking for 5. (1d20+12)[17] On a hit, Parry DC 30+Multiattack vs. Damage, with Secondary Effect.

[CandyLaser]

While Sarah was confident that she could handle Arkham's questioning indefinitely, she was still grateful for the reprieve offered by Senator Boxer. Defending herself against Arkham's seemingly interminable sophistry had been beginning to wear on her, if only because she had so many things to do that were better uses of her time and intellect. Getting some questions from a more supportive quarter was quite welcome. "Thank you, Senator Boxer," Sarah replied. "The main way you can help is to lend your support to the things we're already doing. What's more, the support of the government-funded metahuman teams that Senator Arkham alluded to would be well-received. Project Tomorrow isn't a black box; perhaps it would allay some of your colleague's fears, ill-founded as they may be, if some of your own were on the inside." They'd be on the inside, but that wouldn't necessarily mean that they were trusted. Still, there was no better way that she knew of to build trust. Well, it could be chemically induced, but that would be expensive, brittle, and morally wrong.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Spoiler: Happy Thanksgiving

Show

Kitty listened, trying to keep the sympathetic pain off her face because she knew how you were with stuff like that. Even so, she couldn't keep her eyes from wincing when you said you tortured yourself. The short, sharp exhalation she made when you said you felt guilty clearly had no idea whether it wanted to be a scoff, a sigh, or a sob when it grew up, her own brain yelling at her that she should have noticed sooner, that she should have noticed at all. What might have come from it, who knew, but she told herself she should have at least noticed.

"Listen to me," she said, quiet but firm, with tears in her eyes. "I know I can't stop you from feeling guilty. I know that. But I need you to know, I'm glad you told me, okay? I would rather know than go on not knowing. You did the right thing. I need you to know that. And-"

She halted, hissed out a short breath. The impulse to hold out hope, to say again that the future was uncertain, to offer possibility as comfort, was strong. But she fought down the urge. Changed her words before they passed her lips. "And you don't have to...stop feeling how you feel. Or ignore it. Or...well, I mean, I guess it'd be pretty pointless to hide it since I guess I'm like the last person in the world to figure it out," she said, with a mirthless laugh. "I'm not going to ask you to do any of that. I just...I just don't want you to get hung up on it. To keep...torturing yourself. To hold out a torch. I know it isn't easy, it isn't easy for anyone and I'm sorry that I can't give you what you're looking for, at least-"

"But the feelings you have...please don't turn them against yourself, Fred. I couldn't bear to think I had let that happen to you, that I had done that to you. I know your past experience with relationships has...pretty much just straight-up sucked but...seriously, Fred, this isn't about you, or about me, it's just freaking timing. I know how strongly you feel things and I know that if you just keep looking you'll find other people you feel the same way for. And I know, I know that if you can do what you did here and open yourself up then they'll return those feelings too. Because they won't be able to help it!"

She threw a tight hug around your shoulders, and she might have been crying but if she was she wasn't letting you see, and evidently you might as well have said the whole thing out loud because she said, "Please, please don't go back to hiding behind Ronin, don't just throw yourself back into the mission. I know it's easier to be Ronin than Fred but you have never in your life chosen the easy way and if you asked any of your friends which of the two they'd rather have if they had to choose you know what every single one of us would say!"

Spoiler: A Caged Phoenix

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"A hearing is scheduled, although I could certainly see about moving up the date," Green Lantern replied. "I'm sure your testimony would be welcome."

Caer-Sol gave you a wicked little grin, an unnervingly fierce fire seeming to light her wild, dancing eyes when you asked your question. "I am the Fist of Flamebird," she said, raising one hand and slowly, expressively closing it into a tight fist.

With her other hand, she pointed at the barrier of green light. "Darkseid is still out there."

And in a blurring move she smashed her fist clean through the impervious barrier holding her. She didn't shatter it into shards, didn't sunder it utterly. But she punched a hole clean through it, spiderweb "cracks" sparking in several directions from the point of impact. Her fist was bleeding badly, but her smile had only intensified.

No further explanation was deemed necessary.

Spoiler: ...That's Your Evil Plan?

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Spoiler: OOC

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I wasn't sure if you intended to teleport if you did end up using EE, but actually since Gethsemane would have had to swap to Claws of Rage in the first place, she wouldn't have been able to swap again that round anyway.

Your flaming claws tore a hard slash across the demon banker's chest, burning with orange flame that continued to sear the wound even as it cauterized it, but he managed to leap backwards to avoid your follow-up strike. With his pain power failing, he went for a more direct attempt at neutralization, and a sudden lethargy began to settle over your body and mind.

But that was kinda the least of your worries. The air tore open, a hole leading into...what actually looked like an extremely tastefully decorated penthouse appearing in the middle of the room, through which stepped Jesticarn.
The Wishbender had deep purple skin, black hair tied in an elaborate braid hanging down to the base of his back, and a fu manchu mustache and goatee. He wore an elaborately decorated vest of royal purple with gold trim, open to show off his leanly-muscled form, and loose, baggy white pants. His feet were backwards, and covered only in simple black sandals. He wore an elaborate white turban, the front set with a smooth oval amethyst half the size of a man's fist.
Several knick-knacks and pouches, including an old-style golden oil lamp and a pair of gambler's dice, hung from his belt.

He looked over the scene briefly as the portal vanished, steepling his fingers. "Madam, please. I am sure what whatever you are here for, it can be settled without recourse to crass violence," he said smoothly, with a gentle smile.

Spoiler

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Banker:
Move: Staggered.
Standard: Attack Gethsemane with Sleeping Curse. Give me Will DC 25 vs. Sleep Damage.

Jesticarn:
Move: Arrive.
Standard: Learn What The Heart Wants. Gethsemane give me a Will save DC (1d20+20)[40] vs. Mind Reading. This effect is Subtle 2, so Gethsemane is not aware of it, but it's Limited to information about desires (aside from a few Features it has attached). If you fail by one degree, tell me whatever Gethsemane most desires in her present thoughts. If you fail by two degrees, tell me what Gethsemane's strongest conscious desire is, and as a Feature he also learns her name. If you fail by three degrees, give me a memory of the last time Gethsemane unsuccessfully tried to achieve her strongest desire. If you fail by four degrees, tell me what Gethsemane's strongest subconscious desire is, and as a Feature he may choose for her to become consciously aware of it herself. Uhhh... Crit.
DC becomes 45.

Spoiler: Expertise (Demons) or (Magic) DC 20, nested to DC 30

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While it's already been established that you know that Jesticarn is a powerful manipulator demon who grants wishes that turn out bad for the wisher, that's just the start of it. Demonic power to demonic power, he's not actually all that much stronger than you are. But his true power comes from his mastery of an ancient and powerful form of magic - the power of Truespeech. His words can alter reality in a way that most wizards can only dream of with their spells.

Truespeech is rare, difficult, and archaic form of magic. And as dangerous as Jesticarn is, there are few who can match his proficiency at it. As wise as it might be to flee this place...this is also a priceless opportunity for magical inquiry.
If you give in to your Fascinating Magical Phenomena Complication and remain here to try to glean some knowledge from Jesticarn, I'll start you off with an additional Hero Point in the next adventure.

Spoiler: DC 25

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While Jesticarn's power of True Speech is deadly, it becomes exponentially moreso if he knows the name of his target. If he learns the target's True Name, he can wield tremendous power over them. Fortunately, it's hard to learn a True Name unless it is offered willingly...although of course, many people can be convinced to exchange it for a wish. After all, it's just a name, it's not like he's asking for your soul or anything...

Spoiler: DC 30

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Jesticarn almost always begins an encounter by reading the target's desires. This power is completely undetectable...but you can bet he's trying to use it on you right now. Even worse, this power will reveal to him the name (but not the True Name) of anyone who he really gets his hooks in - which would immediately blow your cover.

Gethsemane is on turn.

Spoiler: Lotus Hacking

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"That sounds quite rational," Boxer said, and if not everyone seemed in agreement, at least nobody openly contradicted her statement.

"Some more practical questions, then," one of the other Senators, Tabitha Tolbert, said. "Do you currently have any particular plan of action for in what order and how quickly you intend to roll out these changes? I think it would be only wise for this body and our colleagues in the House to have the opportunity to review them and offer input on the ideal order of operations, from the standpoint of the American people."

[SuperCracker]

It would be nice to say that Fred was heartened by Kitty’s words.

“You’re right. It will happen someday, I just have to be open to it,” was what he didn’t say.

In reality, when a man is fundamentally broken in some way, it isn’t that easy to fix. And Fred was and is broken. It was a struggle to do anything he considered selfish. It was a struggle to prioritize himself. It took everything in him to take this step, on a leap of faith largely generated by friends (and past reincarnations) telling him that he should… that he deserved something more, that he could have something more. And he tried. He really did try. But both attempts had been failures. What he was afraid of was happening right then and there. Everything he had feared and had agonized about had, to him, been proven correct. What will he'd pulled together had been fragile.

Kitty’s words didn’t fix anything. They didn’t soothe any of the sting. They didn’t convince him that this was just timing. This was more than that… this was fate. He’d told them he’d fight against it, but he only half-believed he wouldn’t be dead within a year. Her words didn’t convince him that he doesn't die when he faces Darkseid. He just wanted those words to stop. He didn’t want someone to worry about him.

No one should worry about him.

This was a good news, as it had always been. When the time comes to make his choice, he can do so knowing Kitty will live a good life. That thought comforted him. As he’d done for practically his entire life, he pushed down his own selfish yearnings. His priorities silently reasserted themselves, despite her pleading to the contrary.

This was finished. It should have never happened, but that couldn’t be changed. All there was to do was to move forward.

Fred pulled back from a hug that he didn’t really return all too strongly. He faked a small smile. He hadn’t said a word the whole time. He reached up and brushed the tears from her cheeks.

“Don't cry."


"I’m fine.”

[CandyLaser]

Sarah pricked up her hears at the mention of 'input.' It was a short step from 'input' to 'veto power' or even 'total control.' If it stopped at input, then things would be fine. Letting the government think it was involved would grease the rails for them. It might help resolve bureaucratic issues as well. It was even possible (albeit extremely unlikely) that Sarah had missed something in her plans, and that someone from the government would spot it.

"We do have such plans," she said, choosing her words carefully, "although they are necessarily flexible. We're focusing on the basics first, though: nutritious food, clean water, power, infrastructure. All the prerequisites for human flourishing. We'd be happy to accept feedback from you on the subject." A subtle emphasis on the word 'feedback' indicated that she didn't want anything more than that.

[Starsign]

Again, the reptilian humanoid flinches at the punch. He normally would have staggered at the sound of the punch echoing across the green wall. Instead, he flinched at how the kryptonian's fist smashed straight through the green wall. She very, very, very well could have struck him clean with that force the first time she punched the wall. Hell, she could have damn well broken free, even if not getting far after, with that kind of strength. Half of Rene's mind wonders briefly, and worryingly, whether his own body could take that sort of blow.

The other half of his mind is fixated on the badly-bleeding hand which had smashed clean through the small part of the green wall. "Oh ****," he hisses quietly. Blood, blood. Oh god that's a lot of blood! The sight of it reminds him of how he'd often be covered in his own from numerous past battles. He never gets used to it; no matter how much he tells himself, he'll never get used to it. Why isn't it going away?!

His clawed feet tremble and visibly shudder before suddenly disappearing in a green-yellow blur. It didn't take him long to come back, eyes wide, slithery breathing heavy, and his hunched back further held over. The dull lighting of the prison makes his scales, especially the heavy plate scales on his head and back, appear dull and worn. His reptilian head and snout uncomfortably jerk up to look at Green Lantern and asks in confusion, "D-Don't you have a first aid kit somewhere?"

If these actions haven't made it clear to the Earth hero, there's no objection from Rene to testify on the behalf of Caer-Sol. Given all the other charges applied to those here, he'll have to get used to being in Oa's courtroom.

...Does an alien planet like Oa even have a court of law?

[Zelphas]

Gethsemane throws off the banker Demon's will, focusing fully on Jesticarn as he steps through the portal. High-level Demon--Truespeaker, truespeaking... once knew this... works primarily on gaining person's True Name. Less data--could gain more, stall for time, learn more magic--

Jesticarn powerful mental manipulator. Already in head at moment, most likely.

Gethsemane slowly straightens out of her crouch, bringing her breathing back under control. She allows her Glamour to drop, revealing the classical Demoness form that Jesticarn would recognize as Gethsemane from fifty years ago, her eyes and face filled with what (to Jesticarn) would seem to be an utterly alien emotion.

"It could be, Jesticarn," she says softly, compassion filling every syllable. "It could be. If only you would allow it to be so."

In a flash of deepest midnight, Gethsemane is gone.

Spoiler: OOC

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Spending a Hero Point to Edit Scene a hideout within Distance Rank 11 of Gotham for Gethsemane to go to.

Free Action: Swap to To Where There's Need.

Move Action: To Where There's Need: Teleport to the hideout.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Spoiler: Happy Thanksgiving

Show

Kitty regarded at you for several seconds with a half-weary, half-oh-no-you-did-not-just-say-that-to-me look.

"One day, Fred, I hope you learn that pretending to be okay doesn't cause me to worry about you less," she said grimly, before standing up. "I...I should go. I'm sorry I hurt you."

And then, because she didn't think there was anything else she could do that would actually help, she headed for the door.

Spoiler: Lotus Hacking

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"Excellent. So perhaps we should discuss some of these current plans, and then retire so we can deliberate possibilities. On the subject of energy, will this be involving..."

Spoiler: A Caged Phoenix

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Green Lantern looked...kinda shocked that Caer-Sol had actually managed to put a fist through the energy field. His ring glowed briefly, opening the hole a bit wider and smoother so she could withdraw her hand, before sealing it up again. A little drone descended from the ceiling, passing through the barrier, and beamed some sort of soft white light onto Caer-Sol's hand, the injury rapidly closing. The drone then flew back up into a hatch in the ceiling.

"That...is probably enough for now," he said, sensibly. "Come. I'll put in a request to expedite the hearings, and then take you back to Earth.
You'll likely be called in to testify in somewhere between one and two weeks," he headed for the exit as he spoke. "On the way back, I would like to debrief you on the possibility of any other witnesses who might..."

"Thank you for coming, Rene," J'onn said with a gentle smile. "It was good to see you again."

Spoiler: ...That's Your Evil Plan?

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You appeared in your safe house, and...no other demons immediately teleported in after you to attack. It appeared you were safe.

~So you are alive. I must admit to some surprise. But that you should be reduced to such a state, shackled to some trinket! I can understand why you haven't made your return public.~

~Of course, your secret is safe with me. We students of lore have to stick together, don't we now? I just hope that if I ever need a...commensurate favor, you will be so kind as to similarly oblige.~

~And when you are ready to be freed of your shackles, I would of course be more than happy to help. Just say my name, and I will be there.~

~It was good to see you again, Gethsemane.~ Your name rumbled through your mindspace, like a toll of distant thunder.

...Mostly! It appeared you were mostly safe!

--

So. Government-funded, mass-produced supers. Let's be real. There were plenty of people who predicted this would go horribly wrong in some fashion.

But to be fair, most of them had thought it would take at least a little bit longer, and probably not go quite this terribly.

But then, even cynical human beings really had to put forth effort to make predictions that actually undershot reality.

And so it was that Metropolis found itself as just one of many U.S. cities facing an assault by a small army of government-created supers. Yes, there were failsafes that should have been able to disable their powers immediately in case of such an event. Yes, they had been tested extensively under a variety of conditions and always performed perfectly, and there was redundancy built into the system to ensure that if one terminal was compromised there were others that could send the disable order. No, it hadn't worked.

And so the Misfits found themselves as just one of many clusters of home-grown heroes defending their city from the attack. At the moment, fighting atop a skyscraper about three blocks down from the Daily Planet against half a dozen paragons who were trying to get a secure high-ground position from which to fire eye beams and other unpleasantness down upon the city. (Yes they could fly but in a battlefield like this flying around shooting things just made you a target that could be attacked from multiple angles).

But nobody should feel too smug. Because there were reports and rumors that some of the old-school heroes were also fighting on the side of the attackers. Some might have doubted these reports, assumed they were false propaganda, or perhaps mistakes made due to the chaos of battle and the risk that even experienced heroes faced of causing collateral damage.

But the Misfits, lucky them, were in no position to doubt, given the unquestionable evidence to their eyes in the form of-

"IT'S CLOBBERIN' TIME!"

Spoiler

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Initiative:
Potence: (1d20+16)[28]
Ronin: (1d20+16)[24]
Thunderstruck? (1d20+12)[25]
Sarah Saturn: (1d20)[6]
The Builder: (1d20+2)[9]
Gethsemane: (1d20)[10]

Enemies: (1d20+8)[18]

On This Adventure: Okay so, I've mentioned this in passing to at least some of you but I haven't heard from Herod in a while, so I'm falling back to my previous plan. I'll be running a final adventure of probably 4-6 episodes to bring us to the climactic final battle against Darkseid. I'm going to try to tie up loose ends and bring various character arcs to conclusions as best I can during that timeframe.

Since I tend to do more episodes per adventure than Herod and this'll be functionally the last one, everyone take 5 Power Points. You can update your sheets as suits you during this battle, it's kinda a warmup anyway, so no need to like rush in changes before your first post or anything. Hero Points are resetting to 1, and Luck Rerolls are refreshed.

I know some loose ends/final arcs and such have been discussed to some degree, but if you guys could post one more time in the OOC things you'd ideally like to see happen/resolved in the final adventure, just to make sure I have it all in one place and don't miss anything, that would help.

Also, if you've had any discussions with Herod about certain things to be revealed later, if you could send me those privately it would help me avoid any more goof ups like I made with Zach's mom.

On Downtime Actions: I'm going to implement the Downtime Actions system that Herod had brought up previously. I want to go over it one more time and make sure it's how I want it before opening it up, and I'm heading out shortly so that'll have to wait until later tonight or tomorrow or something. Everyone will be getting some initial Downtime Actions for the time between the past stuff and this new adventure. Any remaining Hero Points from the last adventure will also convert to bonus Downtime Actions. For reference, those totals are:
Sarah: 3.
Ronin: 3.
Thunderstruck: 1.
Builder: 2.
Gethsemane: 2.

If you'd like to spend these Hero Points on Edits or Inspirations rather than bonus Downtime Actions you may do so.

On Potence: Last time I asked everyone seemed cool with me GMPCing Katie, so unless anyone has a last-minute objection or anything that's what I'm gonna do. I'll be posting for Katie separately from my GM posts. Katie will retain her usual Luck rerolls and earn any party-wide Hero Points (like from victories or whatever) normally. However, any Hero Points that would normally come to Katie as a result of Fiat or Complications will instead go into a floating pool that anyone in the party can use freely.

On This Episode: This initial battle is a warmup. Fair warning, what I have planned for this episode overall is...let's say intense. It's something of a puzzle challenge, and the stakes will be high. We're building up to Darkseid, after all! I'm not going to say it's unwinnable by direct force of arms, but that route will be rough. That said, there are solutions to be found.

On This Battle: I don't have time to do a map right now but I'll get one up when I have a chance. Also...

Potence, Ronin, and Thunderstruck(?) are on turn!

[SuperCracker]

The fighting had been intense and Ronin, who had been flying around the city to wherever the fighting had been worst was already covered in blood up to the elbows. He had wordlessly cut down SPIN soldier after SPIN soldier. And now, as they fought on and around the skyscraper, he was face to face with a f*cking traitor. The f*cking Thing. Ronin glared at him icily from behind his mirror shades. Ronin, naturally, had already powered up to SSJ1. SSJ1 was just walking-around power. But now that he was looking at the Thing, it was time to turn the heat up.

Fred stepped out in front of the other heroes, keeping himself between them and the Thing.

“He’s mine.”

No shout this time, no straining… Fred’s body lit up with power as he advanced to SSJ2. Ronin lowered himself into a ready stance, his left hand held out in front, palm open, ready to reach for his sheathed sword.

Spoiler

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Standard action to SSJ2, move action to get into position. Partial concealment visual. Attacks are -2 against him.

[Thokk_Smash]

"Comin' through, 'scuse--woah! Watch the hair! Imma come over there and whup your a** once we're done!"

Zach dodges one last eye laser from a distant enemy before landing with the rest of the Misfits on the rooftop. It's been a hectic day for Zach, and it's only getting more stressful. Lightning crackles around his form, and he looks artfully disheveled--sexy, but not like he's trying; I mean sure, he's trying, but it's almost effortless? Either way, he strums off a quick chord that resounds clearly even through the din of the battle.

"Fine, call dibs on the big guy, you selfish bastard," he says to Ronin with a fierce grin, clearly not grudging the other man one bit. With a louder discharge of lightning he takes off to strike at the leading SPINner to Grimm's right. A sound like a raging hurricane rings through the air, and then Zach is gone and on top of a nearby, different rooftop.

Spoiler

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Move action: Into Close range of P1.

Attack with Rock You Like A Hurricane, AoA/PA for 5, Crits on a 16+, (1d20+12)[17] vs DC 30 Toughness Damage, DC 25 Fort vs Vulnerable/Stunned, DC 25 Will vs Weaken Toughness.

Move-by Action: Use the rest of my Platform Flight 5 to fly to AV47.

Status: Fine, -5 Active Defenses
HP: 1
Luck: 4/4 (Can only use to remove own Fatigue)

[Quellian-dyrae]

For maybe the three-millionth time, Katie wished she had her sister's speed of thought.

Because there wasn't really any time to think, racing from one battle to the next, trying to get people out of danger when the danger was all over the city. And she needed to think, to try to figure out what in the world was happening! The SPINners should not have been able to fall apart this catastrophically, and even if they did-

But there was no time to think about that, as they engaged half a dozen paragons led by the Thing.

Katie whelmed her power, brilliant silver light blazing around her, as she brought her left hand - the side that absorbs energy - up in a warding gesture, drawing the power of the world around her in defensively. And then her right hand - the side that projects energy - swept out in a broad arc around her and her friends, the silver light coalescing around them in silver shields. "BARRIER!"

And then she gathered a bright ball of silver magic and hurled it straight at the Thing...where it exploded into a burst of harmless (but distracting) confetti.

Spoiler

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Free: Swap to Metamagic and Barrier.

Free: Activate Metamagic to add Secondary Effect to Barrier.

Standard: Barrier on the party. All allies in 30' are Deflected at 1d10+20 for two turns. The bonus is reduced by 1 per point of Toughness above 12.

Move: Feint the Thing at (1d20+16)[34]. If it succeeds, use Set Up 2 to pass the benefits to Ronin and Sarah.

Current Status: Normal, Deflected (1d10+20, SE).

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 1

The paragon that Zach had attacked moved in a blur of superhuman speed, just keeping ahead of his strike. He shot off after the musician, coming in fast and hard with a rapid flurry of superhumanly-strong blows that offered little in the way of an opening.

Two of the paragons immediately loosed beams of energy - one searing red, the other crackling yellow - from their eyes, sweeping their gazes along the majority of the group to blast them all with concentrated energy. A third swept a blazing line of icy blue energy across the rooftops to zap Ronin and Thunderstruck.

Another pair swooped in, each taking on two of the heroes, moving fast enough to engage both targets on equal footing.

The Thing met Ronin's challenge without flinching, hauling back and lashing out with a heavy punch. What it may have lacked in the paragons' sheer speed, it made up for with pure clobbering momentum!

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Paragon 1:
Free: Reconfigure Paragon Array to Flight 6, Close Attacks gain Linked Deflect 8 (Secondary Effect, Reduced Range [Close]).
Move: Into AU27.
Standard: Attack Thunderstruck with Hasted Flurry at (1d20+10)[23], Deflected at (1d10+20)[29]. On a hit, Toughness DC 25+Multiattack vs. Damage, Will DC 20+Multiattack vs. Impaired/Disabled Affliction. Paragon 1 is Deflected at 1d10+18 for two rounds. Deflected

Paragon 2:
Move: Sweep beam.
Standard: Eye Beams on Gethsemane, Builder, Sarah, and Potence. Perception range, so no save for half. Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage.

Paragon 3:
Move: Sweep beam.
Standard: Eye Beams on Gethsemane, Builder, Sarah, and Potence. Perception range, so no save for half. Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage.

Paragon 4:
Move: Sweep beam.
Standard: Eye Beams on Ronin and Thunderstruck. Perception range, so no save for half. Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage.

Paragon 5:
Free: Reconfigure Paragon Array to Flight 6, Close Attacks gain Linked Deflect 8 (Secondary Effect, Reduced Range [Close]).
Move: Into Y29.
Standard: Attack the Builder and Gethsemane with Hasted Flurry, All Out Attack for 2, Multiattack for 2. On a hit, Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage, Will DC 20 vs. Impaired/Disabled Affliction. Paragon 5 is Deflected at 1d10+16 for two rounds.
Builder: (1d20+10)[17], Deflected at (1d10+20)[29]. Miss outright
Gethsemane: (1d20+10)[16], Deflected at (1d10+20)[30]. Miss outright

Paragon 6:
Free: Reconfigure Paragon Array to Flight 6, Close Attacks gain Linked Deflect 8 (Secondary Effect, Reduced Range [Close]).
Move: Into AA32.
Standard: Attack Sarah and Potence with Hasted Flurry, All Out Attack for 2, Multiattack for 2. On a hit, Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage, Will DC 20 vs. Impaired/Disabled Affliction. Paragon 6 is Deflected at 1d10+16 for two rounds.
Sarah: (1d20+10)[25], Deflected at (1d10+20)[25]. Hits since ties go to the attacker
Potence: (1d20+10)[12], Deflected at (1d10+20)[21]. Miss outright

The Thing:
Move: Nah.
Standard: Attack Ronin with Clobber, All Out Attack for 2, Accurate Attack for 2, -2 for Concealment, at (1d20+12)[18], Deflected at (1d10+20)[22]. On a hit, Toughness DC 27 vs. Damage, Fortitude DC 22 vs. Cumulative Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated. Miss outright

All PCs are on turn.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Katie's wards tanked one of the energy beams. The other required her to take a moment to focus them, and burned off some energy, but still. Nothing she couldn't take. Even so, she went ahead and reinforced them. These guys seemed to be emphasizing raw physical threat, so more direct resistance wouldn't hurt.

Okay. Shields up, now time to focus on offense! And by "offense" I of course mean "somebody else's offense"! She sent her Helping Hand flying over to Rene, overlaying one of his claws, channeling her magic into him. The magic would directly augment the speed and power of his next blow. Oh, sure, it wasn't the most complex and cunning spellcraft, but sometimes it didn't need to be. The boost was simple, straightforward, and power-packed. 'Twould do, indeed.

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Move: Dazed.

Free: Activate the sustained portion of Protective Wards.

Free: Swap Support Caster to Investiture. Reconfigure Arcana. Extra Limbs 1 (Projection), Elongation 3 (120'; Quirk [Extra Limb Only]), and full Metamagic.

Free: Use Metamagic.
-10 points to add Linked Healing 10 (Limited [Healing Points]) to Strength Damage.

Standard: Aid Rene's next attack at (1d20+17)[34]. Potence receives (1d20+10)[17] Healing Points. Can't fail to remove the Bruise. +5

Reaction: Investiture triggers. Rene's next Toughness-resisted Damage of rank 15 or less receives a Team Attack at (1d20+17)[35]. ...Unless he attacks someone who's Deflected and they get pretty lucky, that's also probably +5.

End of Turn: Secondary Effect triggers. Allies are Deflected again.

Current Status: Normal, Deflected (1d10+16), +4 Toughness/-4 Defense.

[SuperCracker]

Ronin didn’t even look up at the paragon that fired his laser vision. As the ray came sweeping across, Fred lifted his left hand up and swatted, deflecting the energy back up into the sky. Grimm telegraphed a powerful punch, but Fred was too quick, already moving in closer to the Thing. As Grimm punched, Ronin veered left. The rocky fist went past Fred’s head and over his right shoulder and magical confetti burst into the air around him (thanks Katie). Ronin gripped Starsoul with his left hand and drew the sword with a strike at Grimm’s abdomen and midsection. With the Thing being the Thing, Fred wasted no time with quick, harrying blows and instead focused all of his might into the initial strike.

Trusting in Katie's barriers and generally being unafraid of death meant he could leave himself wide open to deliver a stronger attack.

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Power strike! Since Fred’s deflected, full all-out + power attack. I think Grimm was vulnerable. I’ll luck reroll if I fail this one, since this seems to be a pretty good shot here.

(1d20+12)[30] Unless he's immune to crits, that's a crit. +5 to both dc's. – DC30 35+Multi Parry vs. Damage and DC 25 30+Multi Will vs. Vulnerable/Stunned

[CandyLaser]

Sarah's shunt field deflected the majority of the beams, redirecting their effects harmlessly into deep space. "I do not have time for this," she said with a sigh. "I give the government the ability to produce their own metahumans, and they just copy Superman a half-dozen times? Show some originality, at least." She had been the one to ensure that there wasn't a killswitch for the government supers, and that was unfortunate. It was good policy, but an off switch would be very useful right now. She did have the next best thing, though. She took careful aim at the nearest paragon and let loose with her SPIN darts before taking flight, heading up over the city.

Spoiler: Actions and Rolls

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Polymath is set to All-out Attack, Power Attack, Favored Environment, and Improved Critical 2. I'll attack with the SPIN darts, maxing out all-out attack and PA and assigning the FE bonus to attack. Here's the attack roll: (1d20+10)[26]

[Starsign]

It was hard for Rene to believe that some of Earth's long-standing heroes would suddenly side with a series of rampant mass-produced supers. The reptilian had only just returned from Oa to hear about this project and how impressively fast things went wrong. He is not, however, one to reject what the Misfits have to say and is quick to join the others in facing some of these paragons.

Among other things Rene didn't expect: Battling on top of a skyscraper. Sure, high distances aren't anything new to him. But having to fight fliers at a high-enough distance that a fall could conceivably break every bone in Rene's reptilian body is not a comfortable position for someone who tends to go into a panic. It's quite telling that the Thing seems hardly troubled by the fact that he could fall a very, very long way down... Though perhaps that's the difference with their respective experience as superheroes.

However, nothing changes Rene's compassion for his allies as he heroically throws himself in front of Sarah to protect her from one of the eye beams with a loud, "Look out!". The various beams aimed at both her and him fry parts of Rene's supersuit and leaves his back plated scales sizzling in pain.

The reptilian hisses inbetween heavy breaths as he turns around at the rampant paragon right next to him. Having spent the past while practicing actual martial arts with Ronin instead of violently flailing arms, Rene puts up his scaly arms and clawed hands in the a snake kung-fu style. With Katie's augment, he unleashes a primal series of slashes with his claws, rattling his cold-blooded body in lengthy movements against the paragon.

The notably significant departure from the snake style is that Rene goes for the chest and arms, rather than the opponent's weak points ala eyes or groin. He has actual claws, after all, not hands.

Spoiler: OOC

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Alright, let's give this new sheet a try. Rene will attack the nearest Paragon with Primal Fury while Survival Instinct is active. He will Power Attack +4/-4 here. DC 29+Multiattack Toughness on hit. (1d20+9)[20]

I believe Katie's buffs means Rene's attack roll and DC is boosted by +5 each, so add 5 to the above if true.

[Thokk_Smash]

Zach doesn't even bother to dodge the eye laser, and it dissipates in a shower of counter-sparks of lightning. He doesn't even slow down in his strumming of his guitar. It'll take more than that to interrupt his show!

"Oh, was it a private concert you wanted?" he asks the paragon that had followed him with a grin. Lightning begins coursing over his entire body, summoned by a sudden frenetic sweep of his guitar pick over the strings. "Didn't know a dumb brick like yourself had a taste for the classics. I'm gonna warn, you, though: it may be a bit ~hard to handle, now~!"

With a will, he coalesces the lightning on his body into the frets of his guitar, before unleashing it full-force on the paragon, heedless of the guy's attempts to dodge.

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Free: Swap to T.N.T.

Move action: Taunt Paragon 1, -2 for Chatterbox, (1d20+18)[35]

Standard action: Aim at Paragon 1, making Zach Vulnerable

Extra Effort: Surge to attack Paragon 1 with T.N.T., AoA/PA for 5, +10 for Aiming, Crits on a 16+ (1d20+22)[33] vs DC 28+Multiattack Incurable, Affects Insubstantial 2 Damage.

Status: Fine, Vulnerable, -5 Active Defenses, Deflected at 1d10+20, Fatigued next turn
HP: 1
Luck: 4/4 (only for removing fatigue)

[Zelphas]

The Paragon's eye lasers leave superficial burns across Gethsemane's carapace, but she shrugs off the pains easily enough, the marks already beginning to fade. Glancing quickly across the battlefield, the demon bug leaps towards the nearest Paragon, her claws dripping with red light.

Spoiler: OOC

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Move Action: Close with the nearest Paragon.

Standard Action: Claws of Rage on the nearest Paragon, Power Attacking for 2. (1d20+10)[27] On a hit, Parry DC 27+Multiattack vs. Damage (With Secondary Effect).

Status: 2 Bruises (1 Heals).

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 2

Any mundane being would have been cut clean in half by Ronin's swing. Most superhumans would have been disabled. But while the Thing may not have been the most powerful or versatile hero, he was capable of enduring a phenomenal amount of punishment. Starsoul's enchanted edge sheared through the Thing's rocky hide, but it did so like a sword through flesh, rather than like a hot knife through butter.

The Thing still stood, but he was critically injured, reeling and wobbling.

Whatever variant on the SPIN technology was supposed to allow the government to disable the supers remotely may have been failing, but the classic version still worked fine! A dart in the neck, and Sarah's target's powers were immediately disabled, rendering that paragon just a regular person and as such no meaningful threat in a battle on this scale.

Zach's opponent drew back a fist to put through that chattering mouth and in that moment the musician unleashed a searing bolt of blazing lightning! The perfectly timed shot caught the paragon full in the chest and dropped him, unconscious and sizzling, to the ground. Roof. Whatever.

Paragon 5 wanted to go one-to-two against Rene and Gethsemane, and that worked out for her about as well as you might expect. Sheer speed was all that saved her as she was set upon by a relentless flurry of rending claws. She came out of it injured, bleeding, and on fire. But, you know, otherwise sure, she was having a good day!

And you know what, credit where credit was due, she didn't fall back. She reached out to try to grab Rene in a crushing grip, and swing him full-force right at Gethsemane, screaming in challenge as she did.

Two of the paragons that had hung back went for a coordinated assault, the first one unleashing eye beams to try to blow away Katie's shields while the second one came in from the side with a powerful kick, aiming to punt Ronin across the way and straight into Thunderstruck.

The closest paragon pulled the Thing back and stepped up to replace him. He sucked in a deep breath and blew out hard through pursed lips, exhaling a veritable hurricane to try to sweep the heroes from the rooftop!

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The Thing:
Stunned.
End of Turn: Will to remove Stunned (DC 22): (1d20+10)[30]. Well yeah he recovers

Paragon 3:
Move: Nah.
Standard: Use Eye Beams to try to Counter Katie's Deflect at (1d20+10)[29] vs. (1d20+10)[26]. Countered

Paragon 5:
Move: Staggered.
Standard: Attack the Builder with Super CQC, All Out Attack for 5, Power Attack for 2, at (1d20+13)[23]. On a hit, Toughness DC 27 vs. Damage, Fortitude DC 22 vs. Dazed+Vulnerable/Stunned+Defenseless, and Strength or Dodge DC 22 or be swung into Gethsemane at (1d20+13)[18], for Toughness DC 27 vs. Damage on a hit. Hits Rene, misses Gethsemane even if he is swung
End of Turn: Secondary Effect triggers. Deflected again at 1d10+16.

Paragon 4:
Move: Into Z26.
Standard: Attack Ronin with Super CQC at (1d20+10)[12]. On a hit, Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage, Fortitude DC 20 vs. Dazed+Vulnerable/Stunned+Defenseless, and Strength or Dodge DC 20 or be launched a number of distance ranks equal to the points of failure minus 2 (max 8). If you fail by at least three points, you might hit Zach ((1d20+10)[26]) for Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage. Hard miss even with the Deflect Countered

Paragon 2:
Move: Swap positions with the Thing.
Standard: Use Blow Away, using Precise to narrow the cone. Katie, Sarah, Rene, and Gethsemane, and Ronin if you aren't launched by the prior attack, give me Dodge DC 20 for half, Toughness DC 25/20 vs. Damage, and Strength or Dodge DC 20/15 or be launched back a Distance rank equal to the points of failure minus 2 (max 8).
Katie Dodge: (1d20+6)[13]. Katie Toughness: (1d20+16)[24]. Katie Dodge: (1d20+6)[20]. And an extra Toughness in case she falls: (1d20+16)[19]. Bruised

Anybody who ends up getting launched off the skyscraper without a Flight power active falls 200' to the ground for DC 25 Damage. Note that Platform Flight is insufficient here since it would be due to the results of a failed resistance check.

All PCs are on turn.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Katie wore a rather put-out frown as the paragon shot down her shields, but she didn't really have time to complain as the rest of them made their attacks. Rene was hurt, and the enemy he and Gethsemane were fighting was going all-out trying to take him down. She leaped in the way, hurling up a silvery barrier to absorb the blow. The force of the impact shattered the shield, backlashing some on Katie and knocking her off-balance, but the paragon's arm was likewise halted, so it could have been worse.

Then the other paragon loosed his breath, and Katie reacted as fast as she could, quickly transmuting the roof beneath her feet to flow around them, anchoring her to the roof. It meant she was exposed to the full force of the blast, but her wards took that fine, shining with faint silvery light as they bled off the absorbed energy.

She had been planning to heal Rene, and him being swept from the roof kinda proved an impediment to that, but it was nothing that her Helping Hand couldn't resolve! A gesture sent the shining construct arcing down, growing to the roughly human-size it took on when Katie used it as a platform, and it grabbed Rene and pulled him back up to the roof, pouring curative power into him as it did.

Spoiler

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Free: Swap to Augment Arcana to add 36 PP to the Arcana array. Configure Arcana to full Helping Hand less two points of the Move Object, full Metamagic, and two more ranks of Metamagic from the Augment Arcana feature.

Free: Metamagic.

10 points to add Linked Healing 10 (Limited [Healing Points]) to the Move Object.
10 points to add Secondary Effect to the Healing.

Move: Dazed.

Standard: Move Object Linked Healing to bring Rene back to the roof and provide (1d20+10)[18]/2 Healing Points, with more coming next round. 9 Healing Points, not quite enough to remove any conditions yet, bleh.

End of Turn: Fortitude to remove Dazed+Vulnerable (DC 22): (1d20+10)[29]. Recovers

Current Status: 2 Bruises, 8 Healing Points.

[SuperCracker]

The magical barrier around Ronin lit up as it was struck and destroyed by one Paragon’s eyebeams. The other Spinner’s kick was defeated with a simple sidestep. Likewise, the Spinner with super-breath failed to budge the mutant warrior who dug in and braced against the force. Even though he was now faced with four on one, Ronin maintained his initial target. Ronin flew up into the air above the paragon’s head. He considered how resistant the Thing was to normal attacks and decided to use a bit of magic mixed with the Phoenix’s leftover latent psychic abilities.

Starsoul erupted in bright purple as its physical blade changed into something made of psychic power.

“Trippy!”

Fred had picked up a trick from Betsy.

He came down over the Paragon and towards the Thing, slashing at the Thing’s head with the mind blade.

Spoiler

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Power stunting off of Power Slash.

Mind Slash – Strength-Based Damage 3 (Alternate Resistance: Will 10), Multi-Attack 10, Secondary Effect – Descriptors (Magic, Fae, Psychic)

All-Out Attack 2; Power Attack 5 – (1d20+9)[24] - DC 30+Multi will vs damage, secondary effect

Fred's partial concealment is still up.

Fred is now fatigued.

I should try to keep track of Fades in long combats. Last round, environment light was -1. Now it's -2.

[Zelphas]

Gethsemane steps back to avoid the clumsy swing of the first Paragon, spreading her wings for balance... which made her the perfect target for the other Paragon's super-breath. She disappears in a gust of wind, only to reappear seconds later, the burns from the earlier laser eye attack fully vanished from her form as she closes in with the paragon who swapped with the Thing. Landing in front of him, she claws upwards, the red flames on her fingers flashing in time with those flames still on the paragon she had been attacking before.

Spoiler: OOC

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Move Action: Fly back onto the rooftop and to AB 25.

Standard Action: Attack Paragon 2 with Claws of Rage, All-Out Power Attacking for 5. (1d20+12)[26] On a hit, Pary DC 30+ Multiattack vs. Damage, with Secondary Effect.

End of Turn: Secondary Effect triggers on Paragon 5.

Status: -5 to Active Defenses (this turn).

[CandyLaser]

The gust of wind blew Sarah back, sending her tumbling head over heels for almost a mile before she managed to right herself.

And then she opened up a portal and was right back where she was before the paragon blew her aside. "Really? A little bit of wind? That's what you're using?" She sighed and took aim at one of the untouched paragons with her SPIN darts, then fired again. It worked the first time, after all.

Spoiler: Actions and Rolls

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Teleport back to the battle, then attack. I'll go full All-Out and PA once more. Polymath is unchanged.(1d20+10)[27]

[Starsign]

Try as Rene might, he had been completely unable to keep his clawed feet on the skyscraper building as the paragon's hurricane-like wind blasts the reptilian off. Helpless to gravity, the reptilian is left panicking, flailing his scaly arms and legs around with short, horrific screams as he falls two hundred feet. The wind whistles past his eardrums at increasing speeds as the green-yellow reptilian-

*SPLAT*

The cement street cracks with barely a tiny crater as Rene hits the ground at terminal velocity. The civilians on the sidewalk pause from their daily tasks to view the hero's fallen state as the vehicles around him barely manage to stop before accidentally running him over. A closer look reveals that his left arm had broken at its joints; the lower half of his scaly arm cracks and bends uncomfortably behind the shoulder. A massive gash of pain withers across his body; his reptilian slits lie open but still; his tail likewise not moving.

His right clawed hand twitches. A flicker of life appears in Rene's body as he slowly gets up from the cement ground. The eyes in his slits flicker wildly between his heavy, hissing breaths. He creaks his lizard-shaped head upwards, seeing the top of the skyscraper. Before he can move, a happy magical spell brings Rene back up almost as quickly as he went down, clutching his broken left arm with his free clawed hand. "I'm here!" he claims in groaning pain to the Misfits. "I'm here, I'm here," he repeats, a little absorbed by his madness in shrugging off his pained state.

Doing his best to fight through the pain, Rene slithers and slices at the nearest rampant paragon!

Spoiler: OOC

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Rene is Staggered, so he'll only be moving this round. He switches over to Mobility Instinct so he can get the needed Agility and Wall-Crawling to make it up the building.

I didn't quite read Quellian's post. Mechanics this turn are in the OOC.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Round 3

In any sort of physical conflict the Thing was a tank few could match. On the field of mental battle...well, he was no pushover, but he was hardly equipped to fend off Fred's pure will focused through Starsoul's edge. A few hard slashes of Ronin's spiffy new mind-blade, and the Thing was down for the count.

Gethsemane and Rene double-teamed another paragon, to pretty much equally devastating effect as before, quickly leaving him badly injured and bleeding heavily enough that, let's be honest, odds were he wouldn't be conscious for more than a few more seconds.

Sarah shot true, but the dart only barely pierced the paragon's skin, not enough of the SPIN tech getting injected to have meaningful effect.

Zach made a quick attack-run, blasting one of the paragons with a focused burst of lightning and point-blank range, the force of the attack sending her reeling and off-balance.

Now comfortably outnumbered and with their heavy-hitter down, it was absolutely high time for this group to surrender, or flee or something. And yet...they didn't. Actually, it may have gone unnoticed amidst all the, you know, grown-up problems, but that dude that Sarah had depowered actually was still fighting, just kinda running around trying to punch people. Having precisely zero effect on anything, of course, but like...still. The paragons went full defense as they attacked the nearest targets with blurring speed.

Spoiler: Expertise (Tactics) or Insight DC 20

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These guys are showing clear signs of being controlled by an outside will, one which doesn't care about their well-being in the least. Or they're all secretly Ronin. But probably that first one.

Further, they're not trying to win. They're trying to stall.

Spoiler

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Paragon 2:[/b]
Move: Staggered.
Free: Reconfigure Paragon array to full Toughness.
Standard: Attack the Builder with Crushing Blow at (1d20+10)[20]. On a hit, Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage, Dodge DC 20 vs. Weaken Toughness. Paragon 2 is Deflected at 1d10+18 for two rounds. Hit

Paragon 3:
Move: Dazed.
Free: Reconfigure Paragon array to full Toughness.
Standard: Charge Ronin and attack with Hasted Flurry at (1d20+8)[26]. On a hit, Toughness DC 25+Multiattack vs. Damage, Will DC 20+Multiattack vs. Impaired/Disabled. Paragon 3 is Deflected at 1d10+14 for two rounds. Hit. +2 Multiattack.
End of Turn: Fortitude to remove Vulnerable (DC 25): (1d20+10)[11]. [bHahano[/b]

Paragon 4:
Move: Into AC24.
Free: Reconfigure Paragon array to full Toughness.
Standard: Attack Gethsemane with Crushing Blow at (1d20+10)[16]. On a hit, Toughness DC 25 vs. Damage, Dodge DC 20 vs. Weaken Toughness. Paragon 2 is Deflected at 1d10+18 for two rounds. Hit due to AoA

All PCs are on turn.

[Quellian-dyrae]

Katie sprang forward as Ronin came under attack from the side, getting between him and the paragon and taking hit after hit to her wards. They didn't even brighten, deflecting all the force away from her body without having to absorb any of it.

"You guys...really may as well just give up. MASS HEAL!" she called, whipping her hands out to the side and spinning through a graceful twirl, sending waves of curative power out over all of her nearby allies.

Spoiler

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Reaction: Interpose for Ronin.

Free: Metamagic.
-10 points to remove the Nullify Afflictions from Curative.
20 points to add Burst Area and Selective to Curative.

Standard: Curative. Everyone but Zach receives (1d20+10)[12] Healing Points, halved for those who failed a resistance check this round. Each 10 Healing Points removes a Damage condition, or since it's Restorative they can be spent to remove Weakens at 2:1. 12 or 6. Can't seem to roll... Eh, still enough once added to her prior ones to remove both of her Bruises and knock out three of the Weaken points for Gethsemane, so she's fine after the one she'll recover at end of turn. Sarah's Bruise is gone. And Rene either heals one Bruise and maybe some Weaken or two Bruises depending on how his resistance checks turn out.

Current Status: Normal.

[SuperCracker]

Unstoppable Force meet previously Immovable Object. Ronin’s sword returned to its normal shining blade. Taking stock of how his teammates did, Ronin noticed that the numbers had thinned. But the Spinners kept at it. He would have done the same if he were in their shoes. But the looks on their faces and in their eyes didn’t show determination. It showed a degree of mindlessness.

“They’re being controlled. It’s a stall tactic.”

An attack meant for Ronin bounced off of Katie’s wards. Ronin shot her a look before turning and slashing at his would-be attacker.

Spoiler

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Power Attack for 2.

(1d20+10)[21] – DC 27+Multi Parry vs damage and DC 22+Multi Will vs. Vulnerable/Stunned